Last month, local high school students tried their hand at developing AI code on their own, with guidance from the Biola University AI Lab, in partnership with the tech division in the School of Science, Technology and Health and Buildy.ai, a program that helps innovators dream up and start a business with the assistance of AI agents. With the focus being on teaching students how AI can be used to help solve real-world problems, Biola’s very first AI Hackathon allowed them to explore AI in an environment designed for questions, fun, growth and collaboration.

The students at the event were as young as 13, giving older attendees a glimpse into the creative minds of the emerging generation. Two freshmen from Whitney High School in Cerritos worked to build StudyFocus, a face-tracking app built with Buildy.ai. Reflecting on the experience, one student said, “This might be the basic steps for my future. After this, I’m going to work with AI a lot.”

Designed to make AI accessible to the next generation of builders, creators and problem-solvers, the hackathon gave students the opportunity to learn, collaborate and prototype ideas in a supportive, mission-driven environment. Participants worked in teams to identify and clarify real problems, then create solutions that fit their unique passions, resources and experiences.

Students learned how to identify real-world problems, collaborate with teammates, build early-stage solutions and present their ideas to judges and mentors. They also saw firsthand how AI can help lower the barrier to entrepreneurship by making it easier to test and launch ideas. One student said the best part of the day was “probably seeing our idea come to life within the website. It was very exciting.” Another shared, “It was very interesting to see how the AI would react to our prompts.”

During the hackathon, students heard from two industry leaders and participated in hands-on workshops covering vibe coding, app design, prompt engineering and problem solving. Buildy.ai played a central role in the experience by helping students rapidly turn ideas into working app concepts, lowering the barrier to creation for participants with little or no prior coding experience. As one student put it, “It was really cool seeing that you just type something in there and make a website.”

The Biola AI Lab serves to be a leading resource center for Biola faculty, staff and students to understand and responsibly utilize AI in a moral and ethical manner, rooted in Christian values. Extending this goal to influence high school students, in hopes of developing their understanding of a rapidly evolving field, was what this event accomplished.

“Beyond building technology, we were establishing the character and identity of these students as problem solvers. They were affirmed by their peers with qualities like ‘courageous’ and ‘charismatic,’ words they would not have thought of themselves as. But as the day progressed, we were seeing those qualities emerge as they were working with their team, struggling through technical bugs and presenting themselves and their project,” said Darryl Jung, director of the Biola AI Venture Studio, another Biola space designed with collaboration and presentation in mind when it comes to AI and its development.

The technology industry is booming in ways it never has before. The Division of Technology in Biola’s School of Science, Technology and Health received a transformational gift of more than $40 million last year, propelling it to be a leading program for students to grow in hands-on experience in AI, engineering, computer science and more. Learn more and apply to Biola by May 1 to join the action.